Self-Regulation from the Inside Out

EVENT DESCRIPTION

As therapists, we often encounter individuals who are unable to effectively modulate and integrate sensation for the purpose of achieving, maintaining, and shifting arousal states within a range that best supports daily function and participation. Join occupational therapists, Sheila Frick and Tracy Bjorling, as they introduce the neurobiological underpinnings for arousal regulation from an embodied sensory motor perspective in this one-day, in-person live and in-person livestreamed interactive course.

Designing an effective self-regulation sensorimotor treatment protocol begins with a thorough understanding of the theoretical foundations and unique contributions of key sensory systems, from interoception to exteroception, for arousal regulation from an embodied, bottom-up perspective. Participants will gain a unique perspective on treatment techniques designed to increase interoceptive awareness, maximize primary movement patterns, and enhance “kid power” through organized movement to support individuals to find a broader adaptable range of arousal and affect. From this sensorimotor base, we will also discuss a variety of top-down strategies which facilitate cognitive awareness of state and bring increased knowing for when and what bottom-up strategy is effective when a mismatch exists between arousal and performance.

Additionally, this course will outline how to design and clinically reason an effective arousal regulation activity regimen from assessment and identification of functional goals to individualized intervention planning. Participants will learn therapeutic guidelines and a variety of sound, movement, and other sensory-based strategies that can be implemented across environments, including home, classroom, and individualized pull-out therapy sessions. These strategies are appropriate for a variety of ages and diagnoses to support clients to achieve, maintain, and broaden their optimal range of arousal.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the course, the participants will be able to:

1. Understand the relationship between key sensory systems (vestibular, somatosensory, and auditory) and their impact on arousal and self-regulation.

2. Identify how to connect client assessment and functional goals to arousal regulation interventions.

3. Recognize 3 treatment strategies aimed at facilitating respiratory patterns that support arousal regulation.

4. Demonstrate 3 sensorimotor treatment activities designed to shift and broaden a client’s state of arousal for participation in daily activities.

5. Select 3 sound-based strategies for supporting shifting and maintaining an optimal state of arousal for various daily routines, as well as recover from mismatched states of hyper- or hypo-arousal.

COURSE SCHEDULE

8:30-10:00 Overview of Arousal and Self-regulation from a Sensory Processing and Sensory Integrative Perspective

10:15-12:00 Self-Regulation: Key Sensory Systems and their Unique Contributions

1:00-1:45 Breath: A Primary Path to Arousal

1:45-2:30 From Assessment to Establishing Functional Goals

2:45-4:30 Implementing Sensory Based Treatment Strategies: Lab & Problem Solving

Please note: This is a live, in-person event held at 2 separate locations. The presenters will be at one location (Batavia Fine Arts Centre, Batavia, IL) and the course will be live-streamed to the second location (Dekalb County Farm Bureau, Sycamore, IL). All course content is live and will not be recorded or available for viewing outside of the course locations, and only available to attendees that are present in-person at one of the designated locations on October 29, 2021.

Completion of the course evaluation is required for course certificate to be received via email. Course certificates will be issued within 7 days of course completion.

The health and safety of our attendees is a priority for The Northwestern Illinois Association. All attendees will be asked to abide by any government-issued restrictions for gatherings at the time of the course, and any changes in course location or structure due to those restrictions will be communicated to attendees as quickly as possible.

Registration for this course will close on October 15, 2021, which is 2 weeks prior to the start of the course. Please review cancellation/refund policies below prior to signing up for this course.

COURSE INSTRUCTORS

Sheila M. Frick, OTR, is an internationally esteemed clinician, lecturer, and pioneer in Occupational Therapy. She has over 40 years of clinical experience, having worked in psychiatry, rehabilitation, and home health before specializing in pediatrics. Her expertise includes sensory processing dysfunction, sensory integration, and auditory interventions. Sheila is well-known for expanding sensory processing treatments to include sound interventions. She created Therapeutic Listening® to meet the need for an easily accessible tool that can be integrated into sensory processing treatment programs. She has trained over 15,000 therapists worldwide to implement Therapeutic Listening within their clinical practice. She also lectures on such topics as clinical neurology, respiration, the vestibular/auditory system and various auditory interventions. She is the creator and author of Listening With the Whole Body and co-author of Core Concepts In Action, Astronaut Training: A Sound Activated Vestibular-Visual Protocol, Out of the Mouths of Babes and M.O.R.E: Integrating the Mouth with Sensory & Postural Functions.

Tracy Bjorling, M.S. OTR/L

Tracy Bjorling, M.S. OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Additionally, she is currently pursuing her Post Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree at the University of Wisconsin - Madison with an anticipated graduation of May 2021. Tracy has had the wonderful opportunity of being mentored by and working in partnership with Sheila Frick, OTR/L in her clinic over the past ten years. Working in conjunction with Sheila, Tracy has had multiple opportunities to explore the use of Therapeutic Listening® with a wide variety of clients and diagnoses. Driven by her interest in continuing the evolution of Therapeutic Listening and as part of her Doctoral Capstone project, Tracy is exploring the addition of an expanded clinical reasoning model as a future component of a Therapeutic Listening Stage II manual. As a member of the Vital Links teaching and clinical team, Tracy has also had the privilege of accompanying and teaching with Sheila at numerous workshops nationally and internationally.

WHAT TO BRING:

-All participants should bring a yoga mat/towel to participate in interactive lab portion.

-Therapy Duo Balls are included in registration and will be provided to each attendee at each event location.

-Lunch will not be provided by either facility. There will be space to eat lunch and a list of nearby restaurant locations for each facility. Attendees will have a 1-hour timeframe for lunch.

-Course materials will be available electronically in advance to participants and wi-fi will be accessible for use at both locations. Please contact [email protected] directly if you need additional accommodations.

(a) Ticket sales close October 15, 2021. Ticket Refunds will be honored in full, following an online request, through the payment method received prior to that date.

(b) No Refund will be offered after October 15, 2021.

(c) In the circumstance that the event is cancelled entirely, a full Refund will be available to all attendees.

(d) All refunds and refund requests must be submitted to [email protected] through the contact organizer button on this event page. The date of the request will be the date used to determine whether the ticket is eligible for refund. Attendees requesting a refund will receive an initial response from [email protected] within 5 business days of that request.

Host or Publisher Northwestern Illinois Association